Aussie Pastor reviews iPad

Well. Can’t really resist writing up a quick review of the iPad. It’s been a really busy weekend, and so don’t really have time to write a very full review. For those of you who have just joined in on this site, you’re welcome to sign in via facebook at the homepage or take a look around .. maybe start here for updates on the rest of the site. If you’re completely new, my name is Chris and I’m an Aussie pastor studying in Chicago.

Anyways. Here I am sitting with an iPad right next to me. I pre-ordered a $499 16Gig Wifi iPad and queued up early in the morning to get it. Apple’s store opened at 9am, so I was there at 8:30, not too bad. I just went to the nearest suburban store and really didn’t expect much … but check out this video! Yup. that’s america for you. I’m thinking maybe when I launch something .. I’ll just circle the church clapping to myself and then high fiving everyone before we announce .. i dunno .. our new series on the book of Ruth or something. it’ll be awesome.

Anyways, enough about getting it early Saturday morning. In case you’re curious, I also got a case for it and the apple care (because so many of my apple products breakdown after a year).

First impressions. Well, I’ll just start off by saying (obviously) that I really like it. The whole family cannot get enough of it … I’m always passing it from one person to another. Rachel is reading a book on it, my mum is playing scrabble, may yen in also reading a book, and nick and grace are playing games (their access is limited because dad’s really worried that they’ll damage it).

I’m happy to answer questions in the comments section, but here’s the quick run down:

Things i do with the iPad

- watch starcraft 2 replays from crota. Is this better than a laptop? Yeah, you bet. With the case I get to put the screen right next to me when i eat (instead of at a funny position because the laptop keyboard is in the way). The display is super crisp and clear (Starcraft 2 on HD is awesome). And Crota is such an authentic and hilarious commenter (ok, maybe I’m just a complete geek. but seriously, its starcraft 2!).

- read books (rachel is reading last olympian, I’m doing kids devotion on it, may yen has girl with the dragon tattoo). It’s obviously highly portable. It’s quite heavy. I saw a site compare it to reading with a hardback vs paper back (kind of correct but not exactly). You can’t hold it and read for a long period (either its that heavy, or I’m that weak). Mostly we’re using the kindle application. I’m trying out BOTH the kindle app and the iBook app before i make a substantial commitment to one platform or the other. so far i like the kindle app. It has note taking which i really like! also a bit more controls for screen brightness (eg. i can reverse it to white on black when i’m reading next to my wife in bed)

- mainly using it as my second screen when i’m portable (bible, reference material, greek and hebrew). Really nice when you’re out with your laptop AND your iPad and you can have an extra screen to check out material. It’s like a reference book except instead of lugging 5 books (which is usually how much I have in my gym bag that goes around with me) I can have the iPad. The fact that Logos is out on the iPad means that I have my entire theological collection as well as Greek and Hebrew Bible out with me, nice.

- great for watching videos: UP and Princess and the Frog just loaded on to the iPad. Great for watching in bed and in cars. If you’re anywhere else, your laptop would be just as good or better

- playing games: great games on the iPad. I haven’t really gotten into the games part, but the family sure has!

- Update and check on WordPress blog: yeah, I can access this blog from the iPad. Really nice!

- other things: lots and lots of apps are coming out on it. Calendar app is nice. Actually BROWSING on Safari is really good. Web surfing with your finger is much easier than having to click your laptop mousepad or connect a separate mouse on your laptop. All these things take real estate on your small coffee table when you’re out.

Things i’ve noticed:

- its heavy (ok, maybe i’m weak) . you can’t just hold this thing indefinitely. esp when you’re reading

- the case is awesome. i really use the case alot. tried using it naked and it was very hard to prop up or put anywhere. I don’t think I could use it without the case

- It doesn’t charge when connected to the laptop. You need to plug it into the wall

- I still haven’t figured out how to easily get files on to the Pages application

- Typing is still slow for me. I’ll do most of my long typing on my laptop

Wow things

- reading is awesome on this. I love that i can highlight and that i can add notes

- also some of these books are so much cheaper than buying the actual book

- i like how i can download the entire first chapter to read. reading the first chapter of the book and scanning the table of contents gives you a very good feel for what kind of book it is going to be

- ESV Study bible only 9.99 down from $15 for digital copy elsewhere and $50 for the hardcover

Conclusion

Having said a lot of great things about it. I’m still not going to replace my laptop with it. I do too many things with my laptop on a daily basis and as part of my study and work. I usually have Logos up with several commentaries open, a greek bible, an interlinear … and maybe some lexicon or something. Imagine having to open a different “book” each time on the iPad… too frustrating. Then i can’t cut and paste easily from one app to the next (keep opening and closing apps). Also, will i be able to tab onto twitter and facebook or be on MSN at the same time? No.

So, laptop. you’re still coming with me. So are you iPhone Awesome. new apple device that is so small and convenient, that it adds to the list of things I’m carrying around!

Actually. I’ll mostly not carry it around on the average day. I suspect my family with take it. May Yen already likes it so much and really, it does everything she needs to do. Good thing I love my wife.